2024-12-15 Joy to the World

We are continuing our / / Advent series this week. So, in the first week of Advent we focused on / / Jesus our Hope. And the second week we looked at / / Jesus our Peace. And I hope you are taking the opportunity to personally take some time and reflect on these ideas.

In Jesus we find our Hope

In Jesus we find our Peace

Romans 15:13 says, / / I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.

That is a wonderful prayer. And I found myself asking , “Why am I not praying this over myself?” And why are we not praying this over our families, our friends, our workplaces?

What would our day look like if we started to pray this way:

Oh, God of hope, fill this place completely with your joy and peace… I trust in You! Cause us to overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Oh God of hope, fill my children with your joy and peace… remind them of who you are, give them reason and reminder to place their trust in you! Cause them to overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit…

And in the same way, 2 Thessalonians 3:16 says, / / Now may the Lord of peace himself give you HIS peace at all times and in every situation!

This can be a great personal prayer to really meditate on.

God, you are the Lord of peace… would you pour out your peace into my heart… in this moment… in this situation.

Same with hope…

Lord Jesus, You are the God of hope, fill me with your joy and peace… cause me to overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Sometimes we get a little apprehensive around something like “meditation” or “contemplative prayer”, and I would suggest that it is because it has been so heavily utilized in the new age and pagan world that Christians have removed themselves from it because it appears to be anti-christian or we don’t want to fall into some sort of new age practice. Fair enough, right?

But this is simply because the world tells you that in meditation you have to empty your mind in an act of withdrawing from thoughts and activities that would normally occupy it. It’s all about clearing your mind. Being present with yourself.

What did we read last week? Psalm 37:7, / / Be still in the presence of the Lord, and wait patiently for him to act.

Being still doesn’t mean emptying or clearing your mind. It means focusing your mind and your heart toward God. The prophet Isaiah wrote in Isaiah 55:3 says, / / “Come to me with your ears wide open. Listen, and you will find life. I will make an everlasting covenant with you. I will give you all the unfailing love I promised to David.”

My bible puts a title on that chapter of, “Invitation to the Lord’s Salvation.”

Joshua 1:8 says that when Moses had died, and Joshua was about to take over leading all of Israel into the promised land, God says to him, / / “Study this book of instruction continually. Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it. Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do.”

That’s powerful.

What does Jesus say in Matthew 7:24? / / “Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock.”

So, this whole idea of emptying your mind… That’s actually the exact opposite of what you should do.

You should instead fill your mind with all that God has spoken to us.

You should sit in the presence of God, meditating on HIS Word, and listen for His voice.

In Philippians 4:8-9 Paul writes, / / Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me - everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you.

So, Old Testament…

Teachings of Jesus…

New Testament letters…

All the same thing.

/ / Think on, meditate on, focus on God and the words he has spoken, and if there are instructions in those words, put them into practice!

So, Jesus our hope, we focus on you. Fill us with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Jesus, our Peace, we rely on you. We ask for YOUR peace. We put you as our authority. We submit ourselves to the kingdom of Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace. Let your government, your peace, reign over our lives.

Amen?

And today, we’re going to look at the next theme of the advent season, and that is / / Joy.

Now, you may have noticed, you may have not. There is not one strict order for the weeks of advent, in fact, there are a few common ones. And I think the most common of the two are the order we are doing them in, which is Hope, Peace, Joy, Love, and then another which just reverses love and peace, so the focus then is Hope, Love, Joy, Peace.

Now, the reason I do the order I do it in, is because I often focus on peace along with hope in that we are anticipating the peace of God to reign in our lives and our hearts. The coming of the Prince of Peace was declared long ago. And then love, I focus on in the last week because it is the Sunday right before Christmas day, which is the day that we celebrate that God, who is love, through the person of Jesus Christ was born into this world.

So, it’s not like you can do this wrong. It’s not bible that we are supposed to focus on these things on these weeks. It’s Christian and Church tradition, and of course with various denominations and emphasis in churches the order can change, and that’s 100% fine. What matters is that / / The church worldwide is filled with the HOPE of the coming Prince of PEACE who will bring JOY to all the world because of God’s great LOVE for His creation.

That’s what matters. And that’s the Advent season. We are united in our celebration of the birth of our King, Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world.

So today, here in this church, and many other churches around the world, we are going to talk about Joy.

And we will continue through the Christmas story in scripture, reading a bit from Luke and a bit from Matthew today.

We’ll start in Matthew. And if you remember where we are at, Elizabeth just gave birth to John the Baptist and Mary had been with her about 3 months or so, and then headed back to her home in Nazareth.

The first part we’re going to read, from Matthew 1:18-24, I would like to think, although we can’t know because it doesn’t say, but I would like to think it happens in this three month period of time while Mary is visiting Elizabeth and Zechariah.

The reason I say I would like to think that is because of the stories timeline. Mary has the angel Gabriel show up to her and say, “You’re going to have a baby, and it is going to happen when the Holy Spirit overshadows you, you will carry the very God you now worship inside of you. Make sure you call Him Jesus. He will be great. He is the Son of God.”

Remember what we said last week, over and over again, Mary’s response was / / “I am the Lord’s servant. May everything you have said about me come true.”

But what did she say to Joseph? The guy she’s supposed to marry. We don’t know, do we?

That conversation isn’t in the bible.

So, let’s read this first bit from Matthew and then look at this. Starting in vs 18,

/ / This is how Jesus the Messiah was born. His mother, Mary, was engaged to be married to Joseph. But before the marriage took place, while she was still a virgin, she became pregnant through the power of the Holy Spirit. Joseph, to whom she was engaged, was a righteous man and did not want to disgrace her publicly, so he decided to break the engagement quietly.

As he considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. “Joseph, son of David,” the angel said, “do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. For the child within her was conceived by the Holy Spirit. And she will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”

All of this occurred to fulfill the Lord’s message through his prophet:

“Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel, which means ‘God is with us.’”

When Joseph woke up, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded and took Mary as his wife. But he did not have sexual relations with her until her son was born. And Joseph named him Jesus.

Ok, so before we jump over to Luke to continue the story, I will let you know why I think this happened while Mary was away visiting Elizabeth.

I think / / Mary went to see Elizabeth for a few reasons:

/ / Confirmation of God’s Promise

She’s just been told the most wild thing ever, and the basis for her belief, or the reason the angel gives her that she can believe him is in Luke 1:36, / / “What’s more, your relative Elizabeth has become pregnant in her old age! People used to say she was barren, but she has conceived a son and is in her sixth month. For the word of God will never fail.”

The ESV says, / / “For nothing will be impossible with God.”

The angel answers any and all questions Mary might have with that little bit of information.

Do you know your relative, Elizabeth, the one who has not ever been able to have a child, and she’s old, and your relative Zechariah is also old. Well she’s actually pregnant and they are going to have a bay. / / The impossible has become possible because the Lord said so!

/ / Personal Encouragement

Let’s be honest, no one else is going to know what Mary is going through. She is and will forever be the only person in all of human history that has conceived a child without any outside human help.

Even Elizabeth hasn’t had that happen, but what has happened in Elizabeth is a miracle.

Mary is probably pretty young. That’s the assumption. And we don’t ever see any mention of Mary’s parents. There is some mention in later writings, but nothing we can be 100% sure on. What we do know, biblically, is she has a relative that is pregnant also, and that pregnancy is a miracle, so she is in a unique position to understand Mary’s situation, at least better than anyone else. And not only that, these pregnancies are connected. The son of Elizabeth will be the prophet spoken of by Malachi that would precede Mary’s child, who is the Messiah.

/ / Time for Joseph

This is 100% conjecture, ok, so don’t quote me on this, don’t go saying I said this is in the bible or something else. I have absolutely no clue, but the story most definitely lends itself to the possibility that Mary, having just told her fiance, who is visibly, emotionally, mentally and otherwise disturbed by the news, finds it reasonable to give him some space to come to terms with her new reality.

And whether that’s the case or not, the process is still the same, he’s wrestling with it, so when it happens, doesn’t really matter. I just think maybe this is what happened.

Now, we don’t have to answer this question, but let’s ask it anyway. Do you think, having said, “I am the Lord’s servant. May everything you have said about me come true.” and she did NOT go check with her soon to be husband first, that if Joseph was like, “Ya, I’m out.” Mary would have gone and got an abortion?

Absolutely not. She’s already decided 100% that she is the Lord’s servant before anything else in this life. She is dedicated to following God and His purposes for her life even if all her world falls to ruin. And let’s be honest, pregnancy outside of marriage in this time period would have put her out of sorts with pretty much everyone. There wasn’t much tolerance for that.

So, whether Joseph is in or out, she’s committed.

But accepting something like this right before you get married is wild.

Before Kelley and I were engaged I went out and bought a thousand dollar guitar, while also not having enough money to buy an engagement ring. She didn’t understand…but that guitar was a deal man….a deal…

But, those kinds of decisions, made right before marriage, when you’re like, “But honey, this is a baby from the Lord… And what’s more, I will serve him in worship and shred for the Kingdom…” she didn’t get it, and it can put tension in the relationship.

So, I think Mary has left town for those three reasons. She needs confirmation, encouragement, and time for her man to catch up to the story.

Because what we do see, beyond doubt, is that Joseph IS really struggling with this. That’s not in question.

Matthew 1:19, / / Joseph, to whom she was engaged, was a righteous man and did not want to disgrace her publicly, so he decided to break the engagement quietly.

He thinks she’s lying.

He thinks she is pregnant from some other man.

And he’s a righteous man, meaning, he does things the way God has said to do them. He doesn’t want to sin. And he doesn’t want to be a part of Mary’s sin. So his fiance comes to him and says, “I’m pregnant, but it’s not what you think! Let me explain…”

Ya, Lucy, you got some essplainin’ to do…

Sorry, I love you babe, but I just don’t see how this is possible.

And Mary continues to try and explain,

But don’t you remember, in the Temple that one day, they read from the scroll of Isaiah and it said, “Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel, which means God with us.” DOn’t you remmeber?

Oh Sure, I remember that…of course. All of our people are waiting for this time of the Messiah. But you! I mean, come on babe… I think you’re beautiful. I think you’re smart, and funny, and wonderful. And I wanted to, I mean..want to…marry…. you….gosh Mary, I just don’t know. How am I supposed to trust this? Think of the situation I am in?

Ok. I get it. I really do. It’s been hard for me too… in fact, I have had no idea how to even tell you. I thought, “Why didn’t the angel just go to Joseph first, or even after, whatever, but come on…” But he didn’t. All I know is that our God, Yahweh, has asked this of me and I said yes… I’m sorry I didn’t ask you, but honestly, HE asked me…. how could I say no… Are we not the Lord’s servants? Listen, the angel said that nothing is impossible with God. And you know my cousin Elizabeth? He said she’s pregnant too… Can you believe it? I’m surprised we haven’t heard the shrieks of joy from all the way over here. I’m going to go visit her until she has her baby. You need to think about this. I need to be around family. I need to see with my own eyes that miracles happen… I’ll come home. I will. And I really hope that you are here when I do. But if you aren’t. I love you Joseph…

Again….real? I don’t know…but can you see it? Can you hear it?

Whether she is there or gone, at some point an angel comes to Joseph in a dream and confirms all that Mary has said and being the righteous man he is, wanting to follow the path of the Lord, wakes up, sees that Mary is more virtuous than he already believed her to be anyway. Probably kicking himself for not believing her. Probably thinking, “Wow, I am never going to live this down…” Sure enough it’s lived for 2000 years in the pages of scripture… Poor guy…

But what scripture does the angel quote? Isaiah 7:14, / / “Listen! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel (which means ‘God is with us’).”

The confidence brings peace to follow and be obedient.

Could Mary have done it on her own? Yes. But this is the kindness of God. That she wouldn’t have to. Joseph becomes an instrumental part of this story. A protector of both mother and child. You’ll see later in the story, another dream and a harrowing escape to Egypt so the child isn’t murdered. Joseph is very much involved in this story, and he needed to believe. He needed to have faith.

Ok, let’s jump over to Luke 2 and we will read a couple sections this morning and then the rest next week.

Luke 2:1-5, 8-15, / / At that time the Roman Emperor, Augustus, decreed that a census should be taken throughout the Roman Empire. (This was the first census taken when Quirinius was governor of Syria.) All returned to their own ancestral towns to register for this census. And because Joseph was a descendant of King David, he had to go to Bethlehem in Judea, David’s ancient home. He traveled there from the village of Nazareth in Galilee. He took with him Mary, to whom he was engaged, who was now expecting a child.

That night there were shepherds staying in the fields nearby, guarding their flocks of sheep. Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were terrified, but the angel reassured them, “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. The Savior - yes, the Messiah, the Lord - has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David! And you will recognize him by this sign: You will find a baby wrapped snuggly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger.”

Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others - the armies of heaven - praising God and saying, “Glory to God in highest heave, and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased.”

When the angels had returned to heaven, the shepherds said to each other, “Let’s go to Bethlehem! Let’s see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”

So, the key phrase for us this week is of course, / / “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people!”

The ESV says it this way, / / “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.”

We’re going to look at three things here this morning.

/ / 1. This IS the Gospel

Where Luke writes / / “good news”, this is the greek word euaggelizo.

It’s the same word that Jesus uses in Matthew 11:5, / / “…the blind see, the lame walk, those with leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised to life, and the Good News is being preached to the poor.”

Luke uses the word often for preaching, for gospel, all through Luke and the book of Acts as well.

Acts 5:42, And every day, in the Temple and from house to house, they continued to teach and preach [euaggelizo] this message: “Jesus is the Messiah”

This is the gospel message of Jesus Christ. It is the Good News! It is the message of salvation come to the people of the earth. Jesus Christ, the savior of the world, has been born this day!

/ / 2. Jesus is our Joy!

“I bring you good news that will bring great joy…”

or the ESV, “I bring you good news of great joy…”

Joy is an absolutely central part to the whole story of the Bible.

The word joy is / / chara, and it means cheerfulness. But listen to how Strong’s fully defines it.

/ / Joy, gladness

the joy received from you

the cause or occasion of joy

of persons who are one’s joy

This is actually really important. This is a reciprocal relationship in regard to joy.

Look at that last definition. “of persons who are one’s joy”.

HE is our joy!

This is what the angel is saying, / / “The good news is that your joy is come to you!”

And there are two aspects to that. It’s one thing to make someone laugh when they are sad, it’s another thing entirely to remove WHY they are sad, so that they can feel true and lasting joy, simply by being the one they need in the moment.

Jesus is the latter.

Probably the most well known of the Messianic prophecies in the Old Testament is Isaiah 53. The promise of the Messiah in Isaiah 53:3-6 in the ESV says, / / He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief, and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he has borne OUR griefs and carried OUR sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was pierced for OUR transgressions; he was crushed for OUR iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned - every one - to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

Big point in there. Some people use this part, “yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted.” as a way to justify their belief that God punished Jesus on the cross for sin. They believe sin requires punishment, and so they think the Father was so angry that he took out his anger on Jesus. But punishment was not the point. The wages of sin is not punishment, it’s death. The curse of not being obedient was never God’s hand of anger and punishment, it was our own hand at work suffering the consequences of not following the righteous way of God.

/ / yet WE esteemed him stricken, smitten by God.

The NLT says it this way, which is helpful, / / And we thought his troubles were a punishment from God, a punishment for his own sins! But he was pierced for OUR rebellion, crushed for our sins.

So look at all that Jesus did here… ask yourself, What is it that Jesus takes upon himself to be nailed to that cross to die forever so that we might live?

/ / despised and rejected by men… I have suffered that. I’ve been despised. I’ve definitely be rejected. And it hurt.

/ / sorrow and grief… I think we’ve all had that, haven’t we? Deep grief and sorrow for loss, whether it’s loss of relationships, loss of material gains, or loss of those we love.

/ / one from whom men hide their faces… that’s deep betrayal, deep rejection…

/ / we esteemed him not… meaning, we didn’t even think about him. We didn’t even care.

This is what Jesus takes upon himself so that we don’t have to carry it. Hebrews 10:5 says, / / That is why, when Christ came into the world, he said to God, “You did not want animal sacrifices or sin offerings. But you have given me a body to offer.”

God didn’t punish Jesus because he needs someone to punish. Jesus willingly took upon himself all of our hurt, our grief, our shame, our sin, our brokenness, and our inability to be righteous, our transgressions against God, our unfaithfulness, when all of that was causing death in us, and leading us toward an eternal death, Jesus came, with a body of flesh, took all of that upon himself and allowed humanity to nail him to the cross so that in his perfect body all of that would die once and for all.

/ / The thing that caused death is now dead to those who are alive in Christ!

As a result Isaiah says of the coming Messiah:

/ / …pierced for OUR transgressions

Transgression is our rebellion against God. Paul says in Romans 1, humanity no longer thanked him or worshipped him as God. humans are keen to worship anything but God. We have a hard time admitting we need God. We rebel against anything that we think is control, and yet it is actually through our devotion to God that we gain freedom and self-control.

/ / …crushed for OUR iniquities

Iniquity is Romans 3:23, / / For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.

We cannot keep the law. None is righteous, not even one, scripture says.

/ / …upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace.

/ / …by his wounds we are healed.

This is the exchange that happens. This is Jesus becoming OUR Joy. The cause or occasion of Joy, of persons who are one’s joy.

He is our joy. He is the cause of our joy. This is the good news the angels were bringing, “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people.” What is that great joy to all people? “The Savior - yes, the Messiah, the Lord - has been born today in Bethlehem…”

And why is this great joy, why is HE our joy? The person who IS someone’s joy…

Because he will take upon himself all that was meant to rob us of joy, all that caused grief, and suffering, and sorrow, and pain, and hurt, He will take it all upon himself, on the body he’d been given by God, through the power of the Holy Spirit overshadowing a young virgin named Mary, birthed into the world that night, so that we could experience real Joy!

But it doesn’t stop there. I said this is reciprocal, meaning, it’s two way. / / He is our Joy, but for some reason, when he looks at us, he says, “YOU are MY Joy! YOU are the cause, the occasion, you are the person who is MY Joy!”

Hebrews 12:1-2 says, / / …let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and prefects our faith. Because of the JOY awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame.

The ESV says, / / who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame.

That word joy is the same exact word used in Luke 2:10.

For the JOY set before Jesus. The cause, the occasion, the person who is His joy…he endured the cross.

Yes, this is multi-layered for sure. On the other side of the cross Jesus was going to return to heaven. Yes, he was going to suffer, but he knew on the other side of suffering there was life. He also knows he’s God. And yes, Hebrews 12 says he is now seated at the right hand of the throne of God. Obviously all very joy-full things to look forward to.

But John 3:16 doesn’t say, / / “For God so loved himself, that he wanted to do something for himself, so that he could get back to heaven with himself, and have joy in himself…”

It says, / / “For God so loved the WORLD, that he gave his only son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”

Why did Jesus come to earth?

For you

Why did Jesus endure the cross?

For you

We just read it in Isaiah, all the reasons he took all of that stuff upon His body…

So, when Hebrews says it was for the joy set before him he endured the cross, in my opinion it makes more sense to think he’s seeing our redemption than he’s seeing getting back to his place of perfection in heaven, doesn’t it?

AND, do you realize that in the incarnation of Christ, that is him taking on bodily form, when he dies in his body, he is raised to life in his body? He says to Thomas, “Here, see the holes in my hands, stick your finger in the gaping hole in my side.” I would hope he wasn’t a completely mangled mess here, but he’s still carrying the wounds of the crucifixion.

There is sufficient reason to believe that the love of Jesus Christ for His humanity took him as far to wear flesh for all of eternity. Not flesh like we understand flesh - he tells Mary Magdelene at the tomb not to cling to him because his body had not yet been glorified, so there’s hope for our bodies to be glorified, right? But Jesus became his creation, and it was for one purpose and one purpose only, to save his creation.

So, He is our joy. but he says to you today, YOU are the joy that was set before me that gave me the courage, the fortitude, the resolve to endure all that I went through on the cross, the opportunity to be with you for all eternity. I love you that much!

And that does not in any way diminish His obedience to the Father. Him and the Father are one, and their purpose was always to save their creation.

When you think of the cross, think of that - he endured all of that, not as punishment from God, but out of love for Humanity.

So, my last point for this morning is that this good news, that Jesus is our Joy, is…

/ / 3. For All People

Yes, all people have sinned, but Jesus died so that all people could be saved.

It’s not automatic. Redemption is a gift, and gifts require receptiveness to both the gift itself and the giver of the gift.

But this was the promise proclaimed by the angels on that hillside to the shepherds the night Jesus was born, / / “I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.”

Two words there “all” “people”.

/ / All literally means all, any, every, the WHOLE. One interesting definition of that word is ‘whosoever’.

And / / people, listen to this, it is the greek word laos, a people (in general; thus differing from ‘demos’ which denotes one’s own populace.

I wonder if the shepherds thought to themselves, wait, this is for everyone? Not just Israel?

Probably not, they were probably just excited.

But, when Gabriel meets Zechariah in the temple, when he says that / / John will “make ready for the Lord a people prepared.” the word Luke writes for people is also laos, meaning all people, not just the people of Israel.

In John 3:16, when Jesus tells Nicodemus, / / “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.”

The word whoever is the same word from Luke 2:10, that this is good news for “all” people.

All and whoever, same word, ‘pas’… the KJV, which I grew up memorizing, says, / / “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

Jesus could have said, “For God so loved Israel, that he has sent me to redeem her.” But he didn’t, because he did not come to only redeem Israel, but all of mankind, and not just all of mankind, but to so set in order all things, the word for / / ‘world’ is kosmos, which is where we get our word cosmos, meaning, the universe seen as a well-ordered whole.

God so loved all of the vast and enormous entire universe that he created, that he gave his only Son, so that whosoever, anyone, all people, those who choose to, believe in him, will not perish but have everlasting life.

This is the good news. This is the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Choosing to believe in Jesus Christ as the savior of the world, that He is as Scripture says, Immanuel, God with us, in the flesh, born in a manger 2000 years ago to a virgin through the power of the Holy Spirit, and gave his life for us on a cross, not to bear some sort of cosmic punishment from God, but to absorb the consequences of our sin, our iniquity, our transgressions, our sickness, our pain, our hurt, our wrong choices that separate us from the perfection of God and cause in us death in the present, and eternal death in our future.

And as scripture says over and over again, You can do this by believing in God, and obeying his commands.

It’s the most important decision any of us could and hopefully have ever made, and if you haven’t made that decision, and I don’t just mean verbally, but I mean really made that decision to follow, not just to say, “Sure, I believe that Jesus is real.” But to truly follow Him, with your life, to obey his commands, to live like He lived, to learn from Him and not just gain knowledge or understanding, but to apply his teaching to your life for His glory… I’m telling you, it’s the best decision you can make.

Conclusion

So, as we close this morning, I want to encourage you for this week. / / Let Joy, who is the Lord be your focus. And I don’t just mean ask him to make you happy, but I mean look to him, who is your joy. He is the source, the cause, the occasion to be joyful. No matter what is going on in your life, you have him.

I saw a video the other day someone asked someone a question, they said, “Do Christians still suffer?” and the answer to that is, ”Of course we do”. So the person said, “So then why be a Christian? If it doesn’t solve the suffering of humankind why be a Christian?”

And to that the answer is simple. In the midst of suffering, in the midst of trial, in the midst of all that we go through in this human existence, both because of the choices we make, but also the choices others make. Sometimes we suffer becomes someone else made bad decisions. And sometimes we suffer because of our own choices. But regardless, the difference between the Christian and the non-Christian is that:

The Christian has Jesus, who is our Hope, not just of a better moment, or tomorrow, but an eternal hope.

The Christian has Jesus, who is our Peace, not just a feeling in the moment, but the Prince of Peace, and we are invited to live under his authority, his protection and his rule and reign.

The Christian has Jesus, who is our Joy, who like for the joy set before him (which you heard, I believe is your face), he endured the worst of all the suffering so that for the joy set before us (which is him), we could live a life unto him, no matter our earthly circumstances. He is the joy set before us.

That’s the difference. Human suffering and challenge is universal. And Jesus Christ is the good news for all mankind that is great joy!

Psalm 16:11 says, / / You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

Galatians 5:22-23 says, / / But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

Romans 14:17, / / For the Kingdom of God is not a matter of what we eat or drink, but of living a life of goodness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.

If you’ve noticed, the world is trying to teach that to find joy you either have to be doing what you are passionate about, or you need to spend your life seeking out passion, or pleasure. That true happiness is found in a moment, and as many moments as you can make in this life until you die. Just seek after pleasure.

Depressed, go shopping, you’re worth it.

Lonely, hook up with some random person.

Broke, go on vacation, put it on a credit card, you deserve the down time.

Don’t feel shame for sin, no one can tell you what sin is. You write your own story. You make your own truth.

And all that does is dig the hole deeper and deeper, until eventually you realize you’re at the bottom of a hole, alone, depressed and broke, with no hope to get out.

But true joy is not found in things.

True joy is not found in the arms of another created being.

True joy is not found on a beach with a mi-tie in your hand.

All those things end. All those things fade eventually, and we could spend our entire lives chasing joy when Jesus gave His life on a cross to take our shame, our guilt, our grief, sorrow, sin and pain, and invites us to receive Him, the true source, the true meaning, the true reality of Joy itself.

As you live out this week, with all of it’s things. The busyness of the week before Christmas. Concerts and pageants and shopping, baking, cooking, planning, and wrapping, I encourage you to take some time to ask of God these things:

/ / Would you make known to me the path of life.

/ / Would you be with me, for I know that in your presence is fullness of Joy.

/ / Holy Spirit would you produce in me your fruit, the Joy that can only be found in you.

/ / Jesus, would you change my perspective from simply waiting for a moment that causes me to ‘feel’ joyful, or an experience that ‘feels’ joyful, to the true, deep, knowing and experiencing of You being my joy.

Let me finish with this thought:

Have you ever been in love, and even though you’re going through a rough time, when that person you love walks around the corner and you see them, all else kind of fades away, even just for a moment. It can happen with a good friend, it can happen with a pet even, a cat or dog, the joy that you experience just simply by seeing someone who holds your affection.

My prayer for you this week is that your eyes begin to see Jesus in that way.

That your heart begins to respond to Jesus in that way.

That your mind, your will, your emotions, begin to experienced the Joy that is Jesus Christ, the person, the occasion of joy.

HE is our Joy. And no matter what we go through, when we look to him, there is Joy in that moment. When he shows up, and scripture says he will never leave us, never forsake us, there is Joy to be found in his presence.